1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of III-V semiconductor compounds and more particularly to means of reducing detrimental effects of carrier recombination at the semiconductor surface.
2. Prior Art
III-V compound semiconductor devices are well known in the art. The characteristics of many such devices suffer from the large surface recombination velocity of many III-V compounds. This large surface recombination velocity reduces the efficiency of devices constructed in III-V semiconductor materials because the high surface recombination velocity results in the annihilation of minority carriers which would otherwise constitute a portion of the useful output of the device. The prior art has attempted to overcome these problems by providing a passivation dielectric on the surface of the III-V compound which minimizes the surface recombination velocity. Such techniques have been partially successful in that they have reduced the surface recombination velocities to levels at which devices can function. However, for these devices to achieve their full potential, a further reduction in the surface recombination velocity is needed.